Fareva to purchase Pfizer plant in Henrico

Company plans to invest $42M, bring 90 new jobs to county

Citizen Staff Reports

08/30/11

Fareva, a privately-held international contract manufacturing firm that operates in four business segments—homecare and industrial, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food, will acquire and invest $42 million in Pfizer’s consumer products manufacturing site on Darbytown Road in Eastern Henrico County, state and local officials announced this morning. Fareva will continue to operate the facility, which manufactures and packages brand-name products such as Advil, Chapstick and Robitussin.

Pfizer and Fareva also have reached a manufacturing and supply agreement that will enable the plant to continue production of Pfizer consumer products for the global marketplace. All of the nearly 500 Pfizer colleagues that are employed at the site will transfer to Fareva, and an additional 90 positions will be added.

“Fareva’s acquisition of the Pfizer plant and retention of approximately 500 jobs is tremendous for Henrico County and the Commonwealth," Gov. Bob McDonnell said. "This project is also significant because well-known Pfizer products will continue to be manufactured at the facility as Fareva expands into the North American market with its first U.S. site.”

“We are thrilled that Pfizer and Fareva were able to strike this agreement and both retain and expand the Henrico County manufacturing plant,” said Jim Cheng, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “I look forward to the inevitable growth of this partnership that builds on Pfizer’s brand success while opening Fareva to the U.S market.”

Headquartered in Luxembourg, Fareva employs 5,500 colleagues and reported $1.2 billion in revenues in 2010. The company operates 28 manufacturing facilities in Europe and emerging markets.

Speaking about the pending acquisition, Fareva’s Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fraisse stated, “We have been looking for the right opportunity to expand our manufacturing footprint into North America and establish our pharmaceutical and cosmetics businesses in the United States. The Henrico County site has a talented and motivated workforce and state-of-the-art manufacturing, packaging and warehousing facilities that are a perfect fit for growing our commercial portfolio in this region.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Henrico County to secure the project for Virginia. McDonnell approved a $650,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Henrico County with the project. McDonnell also approved an $800,000 performance-based grant from the Virginia Investment Partnership (VIP) program, an incentive available to existing Virginia companies. Through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide funding and services to support the company’s recruitment, training and retraining activities.

“Henrico County is very pleased to welcome another international company to our community,” said Frank Thornton, chairman of Henrico County Board of Supervisors. “We are grateful to Fareva for acquiring this plant and saving important jobs, and we look forward to partnering with the company as they add additional jobs and investment. Their plan to diversify the plant’s product mix by adding cosmetics is a real plus.”

The Henricopolis Soil & Water Conservation District will sponsor a tree seedling giveaway on April 2 at Dorey Park Shelter 1 from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and on April 3 at Hermitage High School parking lot from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Bare-root tree seedlings are available to Henrico County residents free of charge for the spring planting season.

The following seedling species will be available: apple, kousa dogwood, red maple, river birch, red osier dogwood, loblolly pine, sycamore, bald cypress, white dogwood and redbud. Quantities are limited and trees are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participant is allowed up to 10 trees total, not to include more than five of the same species. > Read more.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) recently launched an online directory of permitted bingo games played in Virginia. Listed by locality, more than 400 regular games are available across the state. The directory will be updated monthly and can be found on VDACS’ website at http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/gaming/index.shtml.

“Many Virginia charities, including volunteer rescue squads, booster clubs and programs to feed the homeless, use proceeds from charitable gaming as a tool to support their missions, said Michael Menefee, program manager for VDACS’ Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs. > Read more.

Richmonders Jim Morgan and Dan Stackhouse were married at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Lakeside Mar. 7 month after winning the Say I Do! With OutRVA wedding contest in February. The contest was open to LGBT couples in recognition of Virginia’s marriage equality law, which took effect last fall. The wedding included a package valued at $25,000.

Morgan and Stackhouse, who became engaged last fall on the day marriage equality became the law in Virginia, have been together for 16 years. They were selected from among 40 couples who registered for the contest. The winners were announced at the Say I Do! Dessert Soiree at the Renaissance in Richmond in February. > Read more.

Two events this weekend benefit man’s best friend – a rabies clinic, sponsored by the Glendale Ruritan Club, and an American Red Cross Canine First Aid & CPR workshop at Alpha Dog Club. The fifth annual Shelby Rocks “Cancer is a Drag” Womanless Pageant will benefit the American Cancer Society and a spaghetti luncheon on Sunday will benefit the Eastern Henrico Ruritan Club. Twin Hickory Library will also host a used book sale this weekend with proceeds benefiting The Friends of the Twin Hickory Library. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.

In a spot that could be easily overlooked is a surprising, and delicious, Japanese restaurant. In a tiny nook in the shops at the corner of Ridgefield Parkway and Pump Road sits a welcoming, warm and comfortable Asian restaurant called Ichiban, which means “the best.”

The restaurant, tucked between a couple others in the Gleneagles Shopping Center, was so quiet and dark that it was difficult to tell if it was open at 6:30 p.m. on a Monday. When I opened the door, I smiled when I looked inside. > Read more.

Cinderella is the latest from Disney’s new moviemaking battle plan: producing live-action adaptations of all their older classics. Which is a plan that’s had questionable results in the past.

Alice in Wonderland bloated with more Tim Burton goth-pop than the inside of a Hot Topic. Maleficent was a step in the right direction, but the movie couldn’t decide if Maleficent should be a hero or a villain (even if she should obviously be a villain) and muddled itself into mediocrity.

Cinderella is much better. Primarily, because it’s just Cinderella. No radical rebooting. No Tim Burton dreck. It’s the 1950 Disney masterpiece, transposed into live action and left almost entirely untouched. > Read more.